To an increasing extent, touch-sensitive panels are being used for providing input data to computers, electronic measurement and test equipment, gaming devices, etc. The panel may be provided with a graphical user interface (GUI) for a user to interact with using e.g. a pointer, stylus or one or more fingers. The GUI may be fixed or dynamic. A fixed GUI may e.g. be in the form of printed matter placed over, under or inside the panel. A dynamic GUI can be provided by a display screen integrated with, or placed underneath, the panel or by an image being projected onto the panel by a projector.
There are numerous known techniques for providing touch sensitivity to the panel, e.g. by using cameras to capture light scattered off the point(s) of touch on the panel, or by incorporating resistive wire grids, capacitive sensors, strain gauges, etc into the panel.
US2004/0252091 discloses an alternative technique which is based on frustrated total internal reflection (FTIR). Light is coupled into a panel to propagate inside the panel by total internal reflection. Arrays of light sensors are located around the perimeter of the panel to detect the light. When an object comes into contact with a surface of the panel, the light will be locally attenuated at the point of touch. The location of the object is determined by triangulation based on the attenuation of the light from each source at the array of light sensors.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,673,327 discloses a similar technique in which arrays of light beam transmitters are placed along two edges of a panel to set up a grid of intersecting light beams that propagate through the panel by internal reflection. Corresponding arrays of beam sensors are placed at the opposite edges of the panel. When an object touches a surface of the panel, the beams that intersect at the point of touch will be attenuated. The attenuated beams on the arrays of detectors directly identify the location of the object.
In order for these FTIR devices to gain acceptance in the market, they must be operable in real-life situations. For example, after some use, it is likely that the touch surface becomes contaminated by deposits, such as fingerprints, fluids, dust, etc. Such contaminants may reduce the performance of the FTIR device. There is thus a general desire to design FTIR devices that provide adequate performance in terms of ability to determine the location and optionally also the size of one or more touching objects, with adequate precision even after substantial use in a real-life environment.